Seed distributors are reporting strong sales of grass seeds during spring 2020. The good weather in April, May and June, along with the fact that farmers had more free time and extra help around the farm due to COVID-19, are two likely factors for the increased demand.

It remains to be seen how the year will pan out as a whole, but wet weather and soggy land in the north and west will hamper hopes of getting grass seed established in these parts this autumn. My preference is always for spring reseeding, but autumn reseeding makes up a significant proportion of the market, particularly on some beef farms, where demand for grass can often be less in the autumn. Kieran Mailey shares his top tips for autumn reseeding.

On page 42, we give a full rundown on low-input pastures – the buzzword of post-sustainability Irish agriculture. While much is made of multi-species swards, the fact remains that grass and clover are the original, and quite possibly the best, low-input pasture available.

For many, multi-species are a bit of a novelty and until the results from ongoing Teagasc research on the swards is published, they will continue to be a novelty. But, as someone said to me recently, there are worse things you could be at to reduce boredom than reseeding with multi-species.

Clover

A big threat to the establishment of white clover in Irish pastures is the loss of the 2.4-DB herbicide. We look into alternative options for managing clover without 2.4-DB. The good news is that a new active is in development, and hopefully this will be available in time for when existing stocks of clover safe sprays are used up.

Declan Marren outlines the steps involved in turning a low-performing field into a high-performing and high-yielding permanent pasture.